1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, and particularly, to a vacuum cleaner in which an appliance chamber forming a suction force and a cord chamber for storing and winding an electrical cord are included.
2. Description of the Background Art
Generally, a vacuum cleaner is an appliance for removing foreign materials such as dirt, dust and debris using a strong suction force generated by operation of a fan motor assembly.
A conventional vacuum cleaner, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a case 10 in which a suction head 1, an extension tube 3, and a suction hose 5 are connected in series so as to suck up the foreign materials such as dust therethrough.
In addition, a dust chamber 12 including a dust bag 20 for collecting the foreign materials such as dust included in the sucked air is disposed at the inner front side of the case 10, and an appliance chamber 13 generating suction force and a cord chamber 14 for storing a wound electrical cord are disposed to the rear of the dust chamber 12 parting inside the case.
A suction port 15 communicating with the dust chamber 12 is formed in a front part of the appliance chamber 13, a fan motor assembly 30 for generating the suction force is installed to the rear of the suction port 15, and a discharge port 16 for discharging therethrough the sucked air to the outside of the case 10 is installed at the rear side of the fan motor assembly 30. In addition, an exhaust filter 17 is installed at the discharge port 16.
A cord reel 42 for winding the electrical cord 41 is installed in the cord chamber 14, and the cord reel 42 is rotated on a reel axle shaft 40 supported inside of the case 10.
The structure of the appliance chamber and core chamber in the conventional vacuum cleaner will now be described, with reference to FIGS. 2 through 7.
FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view taken along line Axe2x80x94A in FIG. 1, and showing the internal structure of the appliance chamber, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the fan motor assembly installed in the appliance chamber shown in FIG. 2.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fan motor assembly 30 installed in the appliance chamber 13 includes a driving motor 31 having a rotating shaft 32; a centrifugal fan 34 installed on the rotating shaft 32 of the driving motor 31; a guide vane wheel 35 installed between the driving motor 31 and the centrifugal fan 34 and guiding the air discharged from the centrifugal fan 34 to the driving motor 31 through a plurality of vanes 35a and an opening hole 35b in the central part thereof; and a fan cover 36, in which the centrifugal fan 34 and the guide vane 35 are enclosed, communicating with the suction port 15 communicated with the dust chamber 12.
Herein, a motor housing 33 including a stator and a rotor is installed in the driving motor 31, and an inlet port 33a for introducing the air discharged through the opening hole 35b of the guide vane 35 is disposed in a front side of the motor housing 33. In addition, an exhaust port 33b for discharging the air sucked inside the housing 33 to the appliance chamber 13 is formed in a peripheral surface of the housing 33.
In addition, the peripheral surface of the motor housing 33 is covered by an acoustically absorbent sleeve 38 made of a multiperforated film, whereby the outside of the exhaust hole 33b is covered, and at the same time, the noise generated when the air is discharged from the motor housing 33 is reduced.
FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view taken along line Bxe2x80x94B in FIG. 1, showing the inner structure of the cord chamber, and FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the cord reel installed in the cord chamber in FIG. 4.
As shown in FIG. 4, a cord passage hole 19 is formed in the cord chamber 14 on rear side of the case 10 so that the electrical cord can be drawn therethrough, and the cord reel 42 including a hub 43 and reel flanges 44 is installed inside the cord chamber 14 so that the electrical cord 41 can be wound thereonto.
The cord reel 42 is installed to be rotational on the reel axle shaft 40 so that the electrical cord 41 is able to be wound or unwound.
Herein, heat is generated in the electrical cord 41 while operating the vacuum cleaner, and especially, as vacuum cleaners having strong suction force using motors of high-efficiency and high-energy are developed, more heat is generated in the electrical cord 41.
Also, as the size of the vacuum cleaners is becoming smaller than before, consequently the internal space available for storing the electrical cord 41 becomes smaller. Therefore, the electrical cord 41 must be wound more densely on the cord reel 42 and smaller gauge cords may be adopted, whereby the heating value per unit volume is increased, and accordingly, the temperature of the electrical cord 41 approaches to the safety threshold level.
Therefore, in order to prevent the rising of the temperature in the electrical cord 41, a plurality of cooling holes 43a and 44a through which the air passes are formed in the cord reel 42 so that the electrical cord 41 may be cooled through heat exchange with the air flowing thereover and therethrough smoothly, as shown in FIG. 7.
The conventional vacuum cleaner having the structure including the appliance chamber 13 and the cord chamber 14 as described above is operated as follows.
First, in order to operate the vacuum cleaner, electrical power must be supplied to the vacuum cleaner, and accordingly, a user draws out the electrical cord 41 wound on the cord reel 42 inside the cord chamber 14 to a certain length, and inserts a plug disposed on end of the electrical cord 41 into a wall electric outlet so that the electric current is able to be supplied to the vacuum cleaner.
When the electric current is applied to the vacuum cleaner, the driving motor 31 is operated, and the centrifugal fan 34 inside the appliance chamber 13 rotates, whereby foreign materials such as dust are sucked with the air into the dust bag 20 through the suction head 1 and suction hose 5 by the suction force of sucking the air inside the dust chamber 12.
As described above, the air sucked inside the dust bag 20 flows toward the appliance chamber 30 by the continuing suction operation of the fan motor assembly. At that time, the foreign materials such as dust included in the air are left inside the dust bag 20 by filtering, and the air passing through the dust bag 20 is sucked into the appliance chamber 30, and after that, the air is discharged outside of the vacuum cleaner through the discharge port 16 in the case 10.
The flowing process of the air inside the appliance chamber 30 will now be described. The air sucked through the suction port 15 between the dust chamber 12 and the appliance chamber 13 enters into the centrifugal fan 34 through the suction port 36a in the fan cover 36. And the air passed through the centrifugal fan 34 flows toward the center from the peripheral surfaces of the guide vanes 35, and after that the air is sucked into the motor housing 33 through the opening hole 35b in the center of the guide vane 35.
The air entering into the motor housing 33 cools down the motor parts such as the stator and the rotor, and after that, the air is discharged into the inside of the case through the exhaust port 33b in the motor housing 33. Then, the air is discharged to the outside through the exhaust filter 17 and through the discharge port 16 of the case 10, as long as the vacuum cleaner is operated.
However, the conventional vacuum cleaner described above has problems, such that the air heated while going through the fan motor assembly 30 is discharged directly to the appliance chamber 13 through the exhaust port 33b, after that, the air is discharged outside the case 10. Therefore, the case 10 may be distorted by the heated air discharged from the fan motor assembly 30.
That is, the air entering into the fan motor assembly 30 from the dust chamber 12 is heated while going through the centrifugal fan 34 rotating at high speed and being compressed, and it is heated again inside the driving motor 31, and accordingly the temperature of the air discharged from the fan motor assembly 30 is very high. On the contrary, the case 10 forming the appliance chamber 13 is generally made using a synthetic resin material, and therefore the high temperature air discharged from the fan motor assembly 30 directly contacts the case 10 , and the case 10 may be distorted by the high temperature air if the cleaner is used for a long time.
Also, in the conventional vacuum cleaner described above, the cord chamber 14 in which the electrical cord 41 is wound and stored has a closed structure except for the cord pass hole 19 for passing the electrical cord 41, and thereby the temperature in the cord chamber 14 is risen in accordance with the heat generation in the electrical cord 41.
That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the heat generated from the electrical cord 41 while using the vacuum cleaner flows to an upper part of the cord chamber 14, and remains therein, whereby the gap in the temperature between the upper part and lower part oil the cord chamber 14 is about 26xc2x0 C. In addition, as the temperature in the cord chamber 14 rises, the temperatures of the electrical cord 41 and of the cord chamber 14 become nearly the same, and the electrical cord 41 is not cooling down well even if the cooling holes 43a and 43b are formed in the cord reel 43.
Therefore, given the problems with the conventional vacuum cleaner having the structure described above, it is difficult to design a new model having a higher power output because the case 10 and the electrical cord 41 may be distorted by the heat generated from the fan motor assembly 30 and from the electrical cord 41. Moreover, if a heat-resistant coating agent is applied to the case 10 and the electrical cord 41 and/or the components are made using materials of sufficient heat resistance and durability, the production cost is increased.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner provided with a flowing guide for passing high temperature air installed between a fan motor assembly and a discharge port, and also with a flowing passage for cooling installed between a dust chamber and cord chamber, whereby overheating of the case and electrical cord may be prevented, and whereby the durability and reliability of the vacuum cleaner are enhanced.
To achieve the above objects of the present invention, there is provided a vacuum cleaner according to the invention which includes a case having a dust chamber for filtering dust from sucked-in air, an appliance chamber sucking the filtered air from the dust chamber and discharging it outside through a discharge port, and a cord chamber for storing a wound electrical cord, these chambers being separated from one another; a fan motor assembly installed inside the appliance chamber of the case for forcedly sucking in and discharging air into the inside of the dust chamber; an exhaust duct means installed between the fan motor assembly and the exhaust port in the case and guiding the air discharged through the fan motor assembly to the exhaust port; and a flowing passage means disposed between the dust chamber and the cord chamber so that the air is able to flow inside the cord chamber.
Also, to achieve the objects of the present invention, there is provided a vacuum cleaner which includes a case in which are installed a dust chamber for filtering dust included in sucked-in air, and an appliance chamber sucking the filtered air in the dust chamber and discharging the air outside the case through a discharge port; a fan motor assembly installed inside the appliance chamber in the case and forcedly sucking and discharging the air inside the dust chamber; and a discharge duct installed between the fan motor assembly and the discharge port in the case and guiding the air discharged through the fan motor assembly to the discharge port.
Further, to achieve the objects of the present invention, there is provided a vacuum cleaner which includes a case in which a dust chamber for filtering dust included in suckered air, and a cord chamber having a cord pass through hole in one side and storing a wound electrical cord are installed separated from each other; and at least one flowing passage is provided between the dust chamber and the cord chamber so that air is able to flow therebetween.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.